There's a royal wedding coming up - let's have tea

The date’s been set, the dress has been picked and the flowers ordered. The upcoming Royal nuptials of Prince Harry and actor Meghan Markle is going to be the social affair of the season – and will most certainly throw a spotlight on all things British once again.

Including that famous ritual – Afternoon Tea.

Nothing represents the U.K. more than Afternoon Tea – that good, old-fashioned English culinary tradition commonly seen on Downton Abbey. As Meghan settles into her new role as as a royal, she’ll be wise to brush up on this very British tea tradition since the Queen reportedly makes it a daily fixture in her routine, often with chocolate biscuit cake, made with McVitie’s Rich Tea biscuits.

Tea enthusiast Andrew Pike, GM of the famous Milestone Hotel Residences in London

“Afternoon Tea to the British, is what enjoying a double-double with your friends at Tim Horton’s is to Canadians,” says Andrew Pike, tea enthusiast and GM of the famous Milestone Hotel & Residences, (Milestonehotel.com), a London five-star boutique hotel located opposite Kensington Palace and Gardens.

Among its many amenities, the hotel offers guests the opportunity to enroll in ‘The Milestone Tea Academy,’ – which teaches the fine art of tea!

Afternoon Tea, (not to be confused with ‘High Tea’ which Pike notes is what the working class of the Industrial Revolution indulged in after work, generally served with heartier dishes compared with the more delicate treats of ‘Afternoon Tea’), was first introduced in 1840 by Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford. History records reveal the Duchess would suffer from hunger spells on a daily basis around four in the afternoon in a household where dinner wouldn’t be served until much later. To help quell her hunger, she had a tray of tea, bread and butter, and cake delivered to her room every day.

The Duchess’ snacking habit became such a hit with her friends that during the 1880’s, women of the British aristocracy made it into the social event that we enjoy today.

“Afternoon Tea has become an increasingly popular ‘British experience’” says Pike and there are literally thousands of afternoon tea experiences throughout the world, with Canada home to some of the finest tea spots in such places as the Windsor Arms Hotel, The Fairmont Royal York and the Omni King Edward Hotel in Toronto to the famous Fairmont Empress in Victoria, BC, to name just a few.

The Afternoon Tea service offered at The Milestone Hotel & Residences comprises of nine different French pastries, a selection of finger sandwiches and freshly baked plain and fruit scones served with strawberry preserve and clotted cream. “It may look dainty, but sometimes it’s hard to believe anyone can move after all those treats,” quipped Pike.

While Afternoon Tea is a relatively recent invention, drinking tea is not. First discovered in China during the third millennium BC, tea wasn’t popularized in England until the 1660’s. What the ancient Chinese enjoyed for thousands of years, the British made up for in the nearly 350 years since tea was introduced to their diets. Recent figures show that over 60.2 billion cups of tea are now consumed in the UK every year, compared with only nine billion in Canada.

Why do the English love their tea so much? “Tea’s not simply just a quick ‘brew’, it can be turned into an occasion, particularly if served with Afternoon Tea, and we love any excuse to turn something into a celebration,” says Pike, adding there’s a type of tea for every time of day.

Lounge

Pike offers the following tips to brewing the perfect cuppa:

– “Brew your tea! Many tea drinkers are guilty of not brewing their tea properly. They tend to pop in a teabag, pour the water and pull it out of the mug within less than 30 seconds. The only thing present in the cup at this point is a bit of colour and caffeine – the flavour and aroma of the tea remains in the teabag. If you really want to savour the taste of tea, first boil freshly-drawn water. Add the water to your tea, whether bagged or loose. Stir the tea into the water and cover the pot or mug with a lid. By covering the tea with a lid, you trap the tea’s aroma in your cup instead of letting it escape into the atmosphere. Leave to brew for at least three minutes, or five minutes if you prefer it strong. Once brewed, remove the leaves or the tea bag and then enjoy.”

Tea and food pairing:

“Like wine, tea can be paired with different types of food, especially during Afternoon Tea. For example, a smoked salmon sandwich goes extremely well with Souchong tea. Souchong teas are teas that are traditionally smoked over pine wood. Lapsaung Souchong tea is another great example and goes beautifully with a rich chocolate dessert. Creamy treats such as an eclair or cheesecake will pair well with a Darjeeling, a green tea with a fruit-based tart, particularly berry, and an Earl Grey or Lady Grey tea with a citrus treat.”

Tea with royalty?

“Not so fast,” says Pike. “Knowing the history and being able to make a proper cuppa is one thing, having Afternoon Tea with royalty is quite another matter. Social tea traditions are serious business in Britain, and if you’re rubbing shoulders with the Royal Family, proper etiquette is strictly enforced.”

NOTE: Should you ever win the royal lottery and find yourself enjoy tea with the Queen always remember good posture, knees together and “always wait for HRH to be served first before digging in. And once they’ve finished eating, so do you.”

Lemon Cupcakes with Elderflower Frosting – courtesy Becel.ca

Lemon Cupcakes with Elderflower Frosting

Planning your own afternoon tea? Here’s a delightful recipe courtesy of Becel (Becel.ca) that pays homage to the Royal Wedding Cake being prepared for next week’s soiree!

If following royal Afternoon Tea protocol seems peculiar, there’s also the brewing debate over an existential crisis in the world of scones. To cream first or to jam first, that is the question.

“Most traditional Afternoon Teas serve clotted cream with their scones. This could, to some, be a butter substitute which surely should indicate that the cream would go on first, followed by the jam. This is the Devonshire way. However, those that hail from Cornwall are adamant that the jam is placed on first and finished with a dollop of cream on top. If you’re having tea with the Queen and family, it’s reported that it’s always jam first at Buckingham Palace garden parties. While nothing provokes as much debate as this delectable issue, one thing that everyone does agree on is that a scone should never, ever, be cut with a knife but should break easily in half.”

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